Builder Morgwn Wilkie and architect Georgina Goddard have joined forces to create Work-Shop, based in Newstead. Channelling local and handcrafted sensibilities, Work Shop Objects designs a variety of timber objects using sustainable methods. more

While it seems we constantly comment on the six degrees of separation that comes with living in Brisbane, sometimes the connections and partnerships between local creative practitioners are less obvious. New artisan exhibition, Chain Reaction is bringing this creative web under the spotlight. more

From the lounge that envelops and comforts our weary bodies at the end of a day to the exposed bulb gently illuminating the pages of our book, good design can transform the quality of our everyday living. more

Grandma’s favourite chair, grandfather’s work bench – the furniture passed down through family hands is not only riddled with comforting memories, but preserves the local design history of times gone by. If there’s a beloved heirloom in need of a little love stashed under your Queenslander, perhaps it’s time to roll up those chambray sleeves and bring out its former glory. more

A snapshot of local design culture and industry development, Brisbane Design Awards is calling for entries for its 2014 program. Launched in 2013, the awards are open to individual designers, companies, commissioners and students who are active in Brisbane. From architects to textile designers to illustrators, a broad range of modes and mediums is considered. The awards are run by Design100, which also runs programs in New York, London, Melbourne and Sydney, as well as mobile and app awards in Australia, Asia, the UK and US. Find a list of specific categories and current entries online. Interested folk can also rate each of the shortlisted entries. Enter your project before February 16.
Image via Marxcraft.
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In October, Brisbane City Council announced it would fast track a $4 million upgrade of the Brunswick Street Mall in Fortitude Valley. Now local foodies and creatives have a chance to put their stamp on the redesign, pitching to make one of the Placemaking Pods their own. more

Owners of a construction company, Hugh and Kim Bridle wanted to achieve a combination of old and new in their next personal renovation project, so when they happened upon a run-down cottage to call their own, the pair sought out local architect Shaun Lockyer to collaborate with. more

Brisbane expat Peter Besley of London-based architecture firm Assemblage is behind the redesign of the new Iraqi parliament. Having worked on projects in the UK, Australia and the Middle East, the firm won an international competition run by the United Nations in 2011 to design new housing and towns in Iraq. Assemblage has since been awarded the opportunity to design Iraq’s new parliament in Baghdad. Drawing on ideas of citizenship, a transparent, democratic relationship between citizens and government, accessibility and positive progression of the government has led to an urban design with green spaces and opportunity for interaction between politicians and the public.
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A sleek dining table handcrafted from sustainable oak, a copper-topped coffee table balancing a small stack of books, a signature armchair with natural leather cushioning and smooth cherry armrests – when dreaming up your perfect living space, the possibilities are endless. more

The ball has started rolling towards the announcement of the 2014 National Architecture Awards, with nominations now open for the Queensland Architecture Awards. Categories for the Queensland chapter include Public Architecture, Residential Architecture – Houses (New), Commercial Architecture, Interior Architecture, Urban Design and Heritage, amongst others. Nominations close on Friday January 31, with the Brisbane event to be held on May 16. Submit your project via the Australian Institute of Architects.
Image credit:
Wesley House by Fulton Trotter Architects in association with Architectus. Photographer: John Gollings.
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While bursting onto the design scene with an entrepreneurial vision and courageous heart – driven to go it alone – is more the norm these days, a little helping hand from those in the know is always a welcome starting point to a young creative. more

The characteristics of a city’s buildings contribute to the spirit and soul of a city, and affect how its inhabitants feel moved, or otherwise, when they cast their gaze down a laneway, up at a tall building and across the cityscape. more

Ex-Brisbane, now Melbourne-based architect Phillip Nielsen has been busy sketching Australian floral emblems by hand to turn into prints for tea towels. Only 70 of the dish dryers were printed across two designs, sporting abstract patterns of the Sturt’s Desert Pea and Royal Bluebell. You can find these latest designs on the Monochromat store. Phillip also has an online store on Society6, which enables artists to upload their designs to the site, which are then turned into a range of products on a made-to-order basis. Find a selection of Phillip’s prints, including tropical pineapples and more abstract nature designs here.
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Food courts are funny places. Fluorescent lighting beams down from overhead, casting your meal and the skin of the people around you in an odd yellow glow. The aromas of foods from greasy franchises and Chinese banquets mesh and compete to win over your tastebuds. Convenience is key, with the food and service designed to be fast, and your meal delivered in easy-to-carry packaging, ensuring you can eat quickly on the run, in the food court or back at your desk. more

Focusing on design that is humble and functional, Nooko & Co is a young Brisbane-based furniture and product design studio. Inspired by space and how people utilise their surrounds, the brand encourages meaningful, considered purchases of furniture and homewares, so a room of one’s own reflects both the person and movements and motions for which the room is intended. more

While we’re well versed in the language of pop-up shops, a new pop-up garden has hooked our green thumb’s attention. Run by landscape architect and outdoor stylist Johanna MacMinn, My Verandah is a residential garden design company, which helps shape outdoor pockets into green oases. While Johanna can usually be found pairing furniture and made-to-measure cushions with vertical gardens and potted greenery to create outdoor living rooms during the week, she’s paired up with the folk at Inspiring Beauty Medispa and Hidden Secrets Hair Salon in Toowong to transform the skinny space between the two buildings into a thriving pop-up garden. Aeriums, moss balls, vertical gardens, hanging planters and Pantone pots dot the outdoor cranny, with many a cacti, fern, succulent and floral foliage ready to be draped in ribbon and given as a gift for Christmas.
My Verandah pop-up garden
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There is a lure, a fascinating pull, that draws us to visit particular cities of the world. Rich with culture and history, these cities, both small and large, draw us in, where the impressive facades of buildings captivate us in their construction, period style and fine details. more